Sole flap splitting machine



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. II MHHHIII) I mm Q I R. F LANE SOLE FLAP SPLITTING MACHINE July 22,1952 Filed June 4, 1949 y 22, 1952 R. F. LANE 2,603,802

r sou: FLAP SPLITTING MACHINE Filed June 4, 1949 v 5 Sheets-Sheet 2Inven for Falls/ f F lane h Azzor'ne y July 22, 1952 R. F. LANE ,8 SOLEFLAP SPLITTING MACHINE Filed June 4 1949 5 Sheets-Sheet s R. F. LANE-SOLE FLAP SPLITTING MACHINE July 22, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed June4, 1949 Elnven to Faber- Flame July 22, 1952 R; FQLANE 3,

v 'SOLE FLAP SPLITTING MACHINE Filed June 4, 1949 5 Sheets-Sheet 5Patented July 22, 15952 s PATENT OFFICE,

sou: FLAP srmrrme Robert F.- Lane, Beverly, Mass, assignor to UnitedShoe lllfachinery Corporation,

Flemington,

1., a corporation of New Jersey A plication Julie 4, 1949, Serial ND.97,154

This invention relates to splitting machines and is hereinillustratedias embodied in a :machine suitable for use .in cutting aheel-breastcovering flap from a portion of a shoe sole.

It has been almost the universal practice. for years to splitheel-breast-covering flaps from soles by the use of the Empire splitterprior to shank reducing said soles, thesplit flaps bein temporarilycemented back upon the soles from which. they are split toinsure thatthe flaps shall not be damaged during the subsequent shank reducingoperation. W

. In.order-,.to split flapsfrom soles which have been ioperated upon,for example, by a combined rounding, shank reducing and roughing machinesuch as disclosed i i-United States Letters Patent No.2,081,961,.granted June 1, 1937, on an application filed in the nameofErnest W. Stacey, and order to split flaps from shank reduced solesthereby avoiding having temporarily to cement the flaps back upon thesoles preparatory to their being shank reduced as above explained,machines have been proposed having a stationary work support or .tablesuch as is used in the Ernpire splitter and upon which, as aboveexplained, most of the operators in the shoe industry have been trained.

It is an object of the present invention toprovide an improved machinefor quickly and effectively splitting heel-breast-covering flaps fromsoles which have been shank reduced, it-being a I further object of theinvention to provide a machine which the operators of Empire splitterscan quickly and effectively use without training even though,as will behereinafter explained, certain mechanism, including the sole supportingmechanism of the machine, is quite different from correspondingmechanism of the'Empire splitter.

In accordance with features of the invention, this splittingorganization comprises a movable knife carrier having on it workcontrolling means comprising a drag bar or matrix against which the workis held positively, as well as against the movable knife, by means of atoothed supporting roll. As shown, this roll is positively driven duringthe cutting action in a direction opposite to the direction of movementof the knife .to hold the work against the latter and at substantiallythe same speed or sometimes at a slightly greater speed. Preferably, and.as shown, provision is made for tilting the drag'bar at the first partof the return movement of the knife to release the pressure on the flapand hence the danger of stretching it. At the salne time, the supporting1 roll is depressed so that it is no longer effective 22 Claims. (01.12-165) f2 to hold the sole up-aga' st the knife and is turned backwardto prevent any drag upon the sole.

Still another feature of the invention relates to the cutting ofreinforced flapswhich have a thicker central portion designed to renderthe flap stronger and intended to help to fill the middle space on thebreast face of the covered heel.

To this end a retractable modifying device is associated with the matrixrecess of the drag bar and means is provided to render this deviceprogressively more or less effective in time relation to the progressivesplitting action. In the illustrated embodiment, the drag bar has amatrix recessinto which the midv portion of the .sole is pushed by meansof an enlarged portion of the supporting roll. Furthermore, the actionis controlled by providing a modifying plate in a re--' cess of thedragbar, which plate can be moved down to render the matrix ineffective orretracted to permit it to perform its function of pro-v dueing areinforced flap. This movement is effected, in the illustrated machine.by mountin the above-mentioned plate on a spring-retracted rod extendingdiagonally through the drag bar and arranging for control of this rod bya fixed cam during the movement of the knife carrier,

:Such an arrangment permits the determination of the startingpoint ofthe reinforced portion as well as theshape of that portion.

The presentation of pieces of work to the bite of the controllingmembers of the knife carrier is facilitated by a guide plate adjacent tosaid members and upon which the heel end of a sole may be rested at apoint indicated by gage marks.

Additionally, a fixed table is mounted at the front of the machine uponwhich the operator supports the toe end of a sole. The guide slidesunder the sole toward this table as the knife carrier moves forward andthe space between the two is bridged by a flexible sheet keptcontinuously taut.

These and other'features of the invention will best be understood from aconsideration of the following. specification taken in connection withthe-accompanyingdrawings in which i Fig. l is aside elevation of themachine;

Fig.2 is a plan view thereof: Fig. .3 is a front elevation of theoperating mechanism with the fram'e'cut away and 1n'sec tion; v

Fig. 4' is an angular view inforced flap; I

. Fig. 5 is a section through a Louis heel to which a flap has beenappliedfland trimmedon one side; Fig. 6 is a vertical'longitu'dinalsection taken of alsole having a rettests has'restricted movement in aslot 14601 a cross bar I48 of theknife carrier frame 44 and is held incontact with the innerflface' of thefca'm plate I40 by a U-shaped springI50 (Fig.2), one side of which rests against a groove in the stud I36and the other side of which is attached to the cross bar I48 of thecarrier frame." 7

The effectiveness of this arrangement will be understood when it isconsidered that the crank plate I6 is in the position illustrated inFig, 2 at the beginning of the reciprocation of the knife carrier frameand turns clockwise as viewed in Fig. 2. Consequently during thefirsthalf revolution of the crank plate 16 the .forward portion I44 of theconnecting rod 84 is in a position such that the roller I38 contactswith a concentric portion I52 of the inner .face' of the depending camplate I40. This portion extends from the middle of that cam plate to.its upper end as viewed in Fig. 2. Consequently the stud I36 of thedrag bar is held in the position illustrated in Fig. 6 so thattherounded corner I32 drags on the upper portion of the work during this,half revolution of the crank shaft.

When the forward movement of the knife carrier 44 is completed, the bolt82 joining the connecting rod 84 to the crank plate 16 causes theconnecting rod to swing on its pin 86 to bring the remaining portion I54of the cam plate surface into engagement with the roller I38 and thissurface I54 controls the vposition of the drag bar I30 during the returnmovement of the knife carrier frame. The surface I54 is notconcentric-with the pin 86 but is relieved and consequently allows atilting movement of the drag bar I30 upon its ends, clockwise in Fig. 6.to lift the operative edge I32 away from the work. To make it moreevident that the surface II54 is relieved, an arc IE6 is drawn (Fig. 2)in dash lines around the center of the pin 86.

Similarly the roll supportingarms 93 are lowered to depress thework-supporting roll during the return movement of the knife carrierframe and this is effected in a similar manner by means of a plate camI60 which is rigidly attached to the forward extension I44 of theconnecting rod and which coacts with a roller I62 mounted at the top ofa tiltable frame I64 shaped like an inverted U and swingable upon pivotsI66 extending between pairs of ears I60 at the forward end of the knifecarrier frame 44. The side arms of this tiltable frame I64 are extendedforwardly and below the pivots I66 and are forked as shown in Fig. 3 sothat they may be pivotally attached to toggle links I10, the lower endsof which are pivoted to the roll supporting frame 94 by means of thesame pivot rod I04 on which the eye -bolts I02 are mounted. When thistiltable frame is swung to the right'as viewed in Figs. 1, 2 and 6, theforwardly bent lower ends of the side arms coact with the links II0 tomake a toggle which forces down the roll arms 93- and prevents the teethof the supporting roll 90 from pressing upward the flesh side of thesole which has been treated. Even though these teeth still touch thesole during the back movement of the carrier, the reverse rotation oftheroll prevents them from moving the sole longitudinally.

It will be seen from an inspection of Fig. 2 that the above-mentionedplate cam I60 has a roll engaging surface made up of two portions joinedby a steep curve I I2. During the forward movement of the knife carrierframe 44, the connecting rod will be in such a position that its surfaceI14 is opposite the roller I62 and at that'time the roll supportingarms'are held. up by the springs I00 toggle arrangement'tdf move therollsupporting arms downward. This down position will be maintained durinthe remaining movement of the crank and atthat time the more remoteconcentric surface I16 will be in contact with the roller I62 andwillho'ld the roll-depressing frame in its forwardly tilted position butwill allow it to return to upright position as shown in Fig. 6 when thecrank plate I6 reaches its stopping point shown in Fig. 2. 7

In order that the drag bar I30 may also be utilized when it is desiredto providethe sole flap with a reinforced portion 26, the drag bar isprovided with a matrix mechanism including a recess I therein into whichthe mid portion of the sole may be lifted to provide the flap with areinforced portion. This lifting of the mid portion' of the sole isaccomplished by a pair of toothed disks I02 which are of larger diameterthanthe adjacent reduced disks at the center of the roll and thereforeconstitute a raised portion in the depression. This action -isillustrated in Fi 9.

It will be understood, however, from an earlier discussion of theformation of the reinforced flap that it is not desired that thethickened portion or'rib 26 should extend through the whole length ofthe flap. Accordingly'the drag bar is provided with amovably'mountedcontrol or modifying device in the form of amatrix-filling plate I84. This is carried by a rod I86 extendingobliquely through the drag bar so that endwise movement of the rodcauses the lower edge of the plate I 84 to move in and out with respectto the drag bar. In itsirmermost or retracted position it uncovers thematrix recess I 80 and in its outermost position .it completely fillsthat recess as shown in Fig. 6 so far as bottom contour is concerned andrenders the matrix ineffective. The plate is attached by screws to therod and the rod is norm'ally urged to the left .in Figs. '7 and 9 bymeans of a spring I86 (Fig. 2), located in one end of the bore whichreceives the rod I86 and held in position therein by means of a screwI90 which has a smaller end portion or pilot I92 to help to keep thisspring I88 in position and to serve as an adjustable stop determiningthe extent of movement of the rod I86 to the right (Fig. '7) and henceto determine the lowermost position of the plate I84.

'Ihisendwise movement of the plate carrying rod I86 is controlled by acam strip I94 (Fig. 1) which is received in a recess of a shoulderedpiece I96 (Fig. 2) held by screws at the top of the left side bracketI28. The shouldered piece I96 is slotted as shown inFig. 1 to permitadjustment of the position of the beveled end of the cam strip I94extending between its corners I98Vand I99.

Coacting with this cam strip is a roll 200 which may be supported ineither of two heightwise positions in a bifurcated arm 202. The arm 202and a superposed arm .204 are swingable'u'pon a pivot pin 206 (Fig. 7)extending between the upper and lower lugs of a bracket 208 attached byscrews to the side of the knife carrier frame 44. The forward end of theupper arm 204 has an enlarged. portion 2 I0'wh1ch is adapted to rest ase -e9 7 against the end of the matrix plate carrying-rod I865 The .upperarm 204 also has a depending lug, 2| 2 at its .rear end carryinganadjustable screw" 2 which restsfaga-inst a shoulder on the lower arm.202. The arms are kept normally separated 'as' shown in Fig. 2 b'yianinterposed spring 2 I6 permitting 'a slight. yield between them to takecare of anyobstru'ction or of overthrow.

When the'roll 208 is'ridin'g on the, high por-'-' tion of the cam stripI94 the matrix plate I84Iis in its outermost or lower position (Figs.'6and 7) so that the heel-breast-covering flap will be of uniformthickness. When the roll 200 slides over the end I98,. I99 of the camstrip then the end spring I88 urges the rod I86 to the left into the'position shown in Figs. 8 and 9 where the plate I84 does not fill thematrix recess I80 and a reinforcing rib 26. isformed on the flap.

, The jpositionof the'cam' stripis'such that when this roll 20!! reaches"the corner .198, of the in clined en'd portion' of the cam strip, thedrag bar I32 alined with thefline A (Fig.4) on the drawing of' the soleandwhen the'rollh'as swung far enough to bring the shoulder on its armagainst stop screw 2I4 (Fig. 2) or to permit maximum inward movement ofthe plate I84, it corresponds to the position of the line B. Betweenthose two positions it has created the bullet portion of the rib andfrom there on to the extremeforward position of the knife carrier; thecartridge portion .of the rib is formed.

Inasmuch as it is, sometimes desired to utilize the machinefor theformation of flaps of uniform thickness,"provis ion ismade for movingthe roll 200 heightwisebetween the top and bottom portions of itscarrier arm 2ll2. The' upper position is illustrated in Fig. 9 and thelower position in Fig. 7 and this is permitted by mounting the roll upona pirr 228 betweenia' shoulder (Fig. 7) at the lower end of the pin anda retaining sleeve 222 at the top off the pin. In this retaining sleeveare two grooves, one of which is shown at 224 and a' springs-pressedball 226 is mounted in a recess of the arm 202 toretain the pin againstthe roll 200 either in'the position shown in Fig. 9 r i where the rollcoacts with the cam strip I94 or in the'lowerposition shown in Fig.7where the roll is beyond the locus of the cam and rests against the sideof the shoulder strip I96; which 'is of uniform thickness.

extension of the shoulder piece' I96 and the other is a similarlymounted bar 232 on the opposite side of the machine. A sole ispositioned upon this table in accordance with size marks '234 some ofwhich are formed upon a guide plate or support 236 (Figs. 2 and 6)extending in toward the biteof the roll 98. This plate has a dependingportion 238 enabling it to be attached to lugs 240 on:the knife carrierframe by means of screws 244. Adjacent, to these screws the upper edgeof the depending portion 238 is extended upwardly as at 246 to providemore metal around the screws 244. Between the supporting plate 236 andthe table 230 there is provided a, canvas covering 248 attached at itsrear edge. to 'thedepending' portion 238 by means of clamp screws 259.3.The forward end of this canvas is guided around "a roll 252 journaled vin the side bats-1| QB'f'and 1232 and is provided with ets I28 of themachine; One of these bars is an a weight254to keep it taut as the knifecarrier frame-moves back and forth; It will be noted that. the table'lisadep'e'nding portion 256 extending down. in" front of this weight. 5

By'a proper choicejof the toothed disks I I 8 and I82 from which thesupporting roll is made up it'will be possible touse the machine forsoles having any desired transverse contour and in the operation of themachine a sole is-positioned upon theftable 238 with" its heel endadjacent to the proper mark 234 and the treadle attached to the treadlecord i depressed." This cause the drive mechanism to effect a singlereciprocation of the knife carrier frame so that the knife 48 passesthrough the rear portion of the sole at a level determined by thecooperating drag bar and supporting roll and it will be remembered thatthe supporting roll is positivelydriven in a direction opposite to themovementof the knife so that the operating instrumentalities travelalong the sole without any substantial displacement thereof.

If areinforce'd flap is to be produced, then the cam strip I 94 will beproperly positioned upon the bar I96 and the cooperating cam roll 288will be raised to the position illustrated in Fig. 9 where 'it willcooperate with that strip to move the rod I86 in the drag bartransversely thereof during the movement of the knife through the work.This, a will be recalled, will move the plate I84 into and out of thematrix recess I of the drag bar to control the effectiveness thereof.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a splitting machine, a reciprocable carrier, a knife, a pressermember adjacent to the knife and a supporting roll for holding a pieceof work up againstthe presser member, said knife, presser member androll being mounted on the carrier for movement along a portion of thelength of the work, and means for rotating said roll at a speedproportionate to the travel of the knife to present the work to theknife Without producing any substantial movement of the work.

2. In a splitting machine, a rest for a piece of work, a carrier, saidcarrier being provided with a knife, a presser member and a toothedsupporting roll, means for producing relative movement between the workrest and the carrier to cause a splitting action along a portion of theWork, and means for causing rotation of said roll to move its peripherytoward the knife at a peripheral speed substantially the same as thespeed of relative movement between the rest and the carrier.

3; In a splitting machine, a base, a rack on said base,-a work rest onthe base, a carrier, means for reciprocating the carrier along the base,a knife and an adjacent presser member on the carrier, and a rotatabletoothed feed roll mounted on the carrier and geared to said rack, thetop of said roll lying beneath'the edge of the knife to support thework.

4. In a machine for splitting flaps from soles having reduced shankportions, a carrier, a knife blade thereon having a cutting edge in asingle plane, a presser member on the carrier adjacent to the edge ofsaid knife blade, a supportin roll on the carrier beneath the spacebetween the edge of the blade and the presser member, said supportingroll having a toothed periphery the longitudinal contour of which has acurved recesssimilar to the transverse contour of the revdupedshankportion of a sole, means for sliding iia mounted devicemodifyingthe efiect of the matrix, a movably mountedarm for operating saidmatrix-modifying device, and having a cam roll, a cam fixed against. ,1movement 'with the carrieriand placed-for cooperation with said cam rollto causeuthe device to move from an ineffective to; an'active position,said swinging arm having a-cam'roll mounted upon it for displacement toeither of two operative positions, one of which is beyond the locus ofsaid cam. V p

' 16. In a splitting 'machine, a knife, a knife support, means forproducing relative movement of translation between a-piece of work andsaid knife,'means on the knife support for controlling thework assaidrelative imovement takes place comprising a drag barand an opposedsupporting member, said drag bar having a matrix recess,

a retractable device for modifying said recess, and means operating intime relation to the movement-producingmeans for controlling theposition of the retractable device.

17. Ina splitting machine, a knife, a knife support, means for producingrelative --movement between a piece. of work'and said knife, means onthe knife support for controlling the work as said relativemovementtakes placecomprising a drag bar and an opposed supporting member, saiddrag bar having'a matrixrecess, a device associated with said drag'barand movable so as progressively to fill the recess, and means operatedby said relative-movement-producing means to effect movement-of saidmatrix-filling device.

18. In a splitting machine, a knife, a knife support, means forproducing relative movement between a pieceof work and said'knife, meanson the knife support for controlling the work as said relative movementtakes place comprising a drag bar'and an'opposed supporting member, saiddrag bar having amatrix recess, a plate slidably mountedon the drag barand arranged progressively to fill the-recess, plate-carrying meansmovable endwise of the drag bar, and means associated with saidrelative-movementproducing means forv effecting said endwise movementprogressively during the splitting operation. V a

19. In a splitting. machine, a base, a carrier slidable on the base andprovided with a knife, an adjacent presser member and a work-supportingroll, said roll being mounted on the car- ,12 T rier for movement towardand away from the work, means for reciprocating the carrier, and meansoperative during a part of said reciprocation for moving the supportingroll down away from thework; v e a, e

20. In a splitting machine, a base, -a,,,carrier slidable on the base,means for reciprocating saidcarrier, said carrier being provided with acutting tool, a presser member and a, work-supporting member, means forrendering thepresser member and the work-supporting member ineffectivewith respect to the work, and means operated during said reciprocationfor actuating said latter means.

21. In a splitting machine, a base, a carrier slidable on the base, asplitting tool on the carrier, a roll support tiltable on the carrier, aroll for supporting the work pivoted on said support, spring means forholding said roll support in operative position, toggle means fordepressing the support to carry the roll to inoperative position, andmeans for-reciprocating the carrier, said latter, means being operativeduring a portion of's'aid reciprocation to operate the toggle REFERENCESCITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:I p

v :UNI'IED sTA'rEs PATENTS Number and depress the supporting. roll outof engage- V Name Y Date 462,594 1 'Scott Nov. 3,1891 2,021,811Sbiccaet'al. -Nov. 19,1935 2,125,959 Seely Aug. 9, I938 EOREIGNPA'I'ENTS Number Country Date 1,955 7 Great Britain of 1904

